Paddle switch and steering wheel

ABSTRACT

Paddle levers protrude from lower sides of a center pad of a steering wheel into two lower spaces partitioned using a horizontal spoke and a vertical spoke of the steering wheel. The paddle lever is formed of a transparent photoconductor, and a periphery of the paddle lever is illuminated in a rimmed shape. Hence, the paddle lever can be visually recognized easily, and a finger touching the paddle lever can be visually recognized instantaneously. Therefore, operation almost nearly equivalent to complete blind touch operation can be attained, and the operability is improved.

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent ApplicationNo. 2007-341575, filed Dec. 30, 2007, the content of which is hereinincorporated by reference in their entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present disclosure relates to a paddle switch provided on a centerpad of a steering wheel. More particularly, the present disclosurerelates to a paddle switch which is ON/OFF operated by pulling up anoperation knob of the paddle switch with a fingertip.

DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART

Various paddle switches for steering wheels are known. A related-artshows that an oblong center pad is provided at the center of a steeringwheel, paddle switches are provided on left and right sides of thecenter pad, and operation knobs of the paddle switches are providedbetween the center pad and a left grip section of the wheel section andbetween the center pad and a right grip section of the wheel section,wherein the operation knob of each paddle switch is pulled up with afingertip while gripping the wheel section with a hand (refer to Patentdocument 1; Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.2005-8125).

In addition, another related-art shows that an operation lever of apaddle switch is provided with a photoconductor (refer to Patentdocument 2; Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No.2004-349209).

According to Patent document 1, the operation knobs are made transparentso that a fingertip can be seen. However, since one operation knob has aplurality of operation sections, it is necessary to move a line of sightto the operation knobs each time operation is performed. It is thusdesirable that such movement of the line of sight should be restrainedand that the operation should be performed by blind touch as much aspossible during driving. Furthermore, since a part of the operation knobis transparent, the operation knob has complicated structure.

According to Patent document 2, a photoconductor is used for theoperation lever. A tip end of the operation lever is illuminated in asmall area to display a specific mark or the like. Hence, it is alsonecessary to move the line of sight and it takes time until the mark isvisually recognized. It is therefore desirable that the light from thephotoconductor should not be used to display the specific mark or thelike but should be used so that the operation lever can be visuallyrecognized instantaneously during operation.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

The invention provides a paddle switch with a simple structure and beingable to attain operation nearly equivalent to complete blind touchoperation.

According to a first aspect of the invention, a paddle switch for asteering wheel, the paddle switch protruding from a lower portion of acenter pad provided on a center of the steering wheel is provided withan operation knob formed of a transparent photoconductor, wherein anouter periphery of the operation knob is illuminated depending on anON/OFF operation of the paddle switch.

According to a second aspect of the invention, a reflecting surface maybe formed on an operation part of the outer periphery of the operationknob.

According to a third aspect of the invention, the operation part of theouter periphery of the operation knob may be chamfered.

According to a fourth aspect of the invention, the reflecting surface ofthe operation knob may be inclined with respect to emitting direction ofa light from a light source.

According to a fifth aspect of the invention, a light source may be amulticolor LED, and the outer periphery of the operation knob may beilluminated with different colors depending on the ON/OFF operation ofthe paddle switch.

6. According to a sixth aspect of the invention, a steering wheel isprovided with a paddle switch according to claim 1, a wheel section, acenter pad provided on a center of the steering wheel and a horizontalspoke extending from the center pad in a radial direction, wherein thepaddle switch is installed in the center pad, the operation knob of thepaddle switch protrudes toward a lower space formed between thehorizontal spoke and the wheel section and is positioned within thereach of a finger in state of gripping a lower half side of the wheelsection with a hand.

Other aspects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description, the drawings and the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a steering wheel.

FIG. 2 is a magnified view showing a part of a paddle switch shown inFIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a rear view showing the steering wheel.

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the steering wheel without a center padof the steering wheel.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the steering wheel without a rear cover ofthe steering wheel.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6-6 of FIG. 5.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing the illuminated border section of thepaddle lever of the paddle switch.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the center pad and therear cover.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

An embodiment according to the present invention will be described belowon the basis of the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing a frontside of a steering wheel 1. FIG. 2 is a magnified view showing a part ofa paddle switch. The steering wheel 1 has a ring-shaped wheel section 2and a spoke section 4. The spoke section 4 connects the wheel section 2to a center boss 3. The center boss 3 is disposed at the center of thesteering wheel 1 and connected to an upper end section of a steeringshaft (not shown). The spoke section 4 has a horizontal spoke 4 aextending in the nearly left-right direction and a vertical spoke 4 bextending in the up-down direction on a central lower half side of thesteering wheel 1. The central sides of the horizontal spoke 4 a and thevertical spoke 4 b are covered with a center pad 5.

The center pad 5 is a decorative member made of a resin and covering thecentral side of the spoke section 4. The center pad 5 has a nearlypentagonal shape in the embodiment. A space between the wheel section 2and the center pad 5 are parted up and down by the spoke section 4. Asemicircular upper space 6 a is enclosed with the wheel section 2 and anupper side of the horizontal spoke 4 a. Lower spaces 6 b are formed on alower side of the horizontal spoke 4 a and parted left and right by thevertical spoke 4 b.

The wheel section 2 and outer portions of the spoke section 4 outsidethe center pad 5 are integrally covered with an outer skin 7 made of asoft foamed resin or the like. The outer skin 7 of the wheel section 2is formed around a core bar 8 made of a steel ring or the like. Theouter skin 7 of the spoke section 4 is integrally formed on a spoke coremetal sheet 9 composed of a steel sheet. A central portion of the spokesection 4 is not covered with the outer skin 7 so that the spoke coremetal sheet 9 is exposed.

Multiple paddle levers 10 protrude into left and right lower spaces 6 bfrom a pair of left and right lower sides 5 a of the center pad 5. Thepaddle levers 10 are provided on the lower half side of the steeringwheel 1 and positioned against a back face of an instrument panel (notshown) as viewed from a driver during the running operation of avehicle. Furthermore, the paddle levers 10 are positioned within thereach of a finger while gripping the lower half side of the wheelsection with a hand.

The paddle levers 10 serve as operation knobs used for each of themultiple paddle switches described later. A clearance is providedbetween the adjacent paddle levers 10 so that the paddle levers 10 canbe operated independently each other. A paddle switch (described later)is switched ON/OFF by pulling up the paddle lever 10 with an indexfinger 13, etc. of a hand 11 gripping the wheel section 2. In FIG. 2,the hand 11 has a thumb 12, the index finger 13, a middle finger 14, athird finger 15 and a little finger 16. The paddle lever 10 can beoperated using any of the fingers of the hand 11 gripping a nearlyquarter of the circumference of the wheel section 2 ranging from thehorizontal spoke 4 a to the vertical spoke 4 b on the lower half side ofthe wheel section 2. At this time, the hand 11 can contact with both oreither one of the base section between the horizontal spoke 4 a and thewheel section 2 and the base section between the vertical spoke 4 b andthe wheel section 2. Hence, the hand 11 can be positioned with respectto the paddle lever 10.

When the hand 11 grippes a portion of the wheel section 2 facing thespace 6 b, the thumb 12 presses the upper face of the wheel section 2from above and is positioned in the proximity of the base section of thehorizontal spoke 4 a. The index finger 13 to the little finger 16 areused to grip the wheel section 2 in the range between the horizontalspoke 4 a and the vertical spoke 4 b such that the tip ends of thefingers stick out from the lower side of the wheel section 2. Whenoperating the paddle lever 10 (operation knob), a finger nearest to thepaddle lever 10 operates the paddle lever 10. In the embodiment, it isassumed that the index finger 13 passes under the wheel section 2 andpushes the rear face of the paddle lever 10. That is, the index finger13 operates the paddle lever 10.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the rear face of the steering wheel 1. Acentral side of the rear face is also covered with a rear cover 20 up tothe intermediate sections of the horizontal spoke 4 a and the verticalspoke 4 b in the radial direction. The rear cover 20 is formed into anearly container-like shape, for example, by injection molding asynthetic resin.

The rear cover 20 has a nearly pentagonal shape similar to the centerpad 5, and the paddle levers 10 protrude from the left and right lowerwalls 20 a of the rear cover 20. An outer side portion of the verticalspoke 4 b in the radial direction protrudes from a portion connectingleft and right lower walls 20 a of the rear cover 20. Outer sideportions of the horizontal spoke 4 a in the radial direction protrudefrom left and right side walls 20 b of the rear cover 20. An upper sideof the rear cover 20 is designated by 20 c.

A through hole 22 is formed on a lower side of the bottom face 21 of therear cover 20. A harness 23 connected to a cord 48 (see FIG. 6) isinserted into the through hole 22 so as to pass through the inside ofthe rear cover 20 and extend from the outside of the rear cover 20. Alarge-diameter hole 24 is provided at the center of the bottom face 21.A mounting shaft 25 on which the center boss 3 is installed is insertedinto the large-diameter hole 24. The mounting shaft 25 protrudes towardthe rear side and is connected to a steering shaft (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a front view showing the steering wheel 1 without the centerpad 5. Since the center pad 5 covers the central portion of the spokesection 4, the central portion is not covered with the outer skin 7 sothat the spoke core metal sheet 9 are exposed. Extension sectionsprotruding into the left and right lower spaces 6 b are provided on thelower side of the exposed portion of the spoke core metal sheet 9.Switch cases 41 of paddle switches 40 are installed on the extensionsections 35 with screws 36 and nuts 37.

Rectangular through holes 38 are formed closer to the center of thesteering wheel 1 than the switch cases 41 installed on the extensionsections 35. Each rectangular trough hole 38 is formed between one pairof the screw 36 and the nut 37 and another pair of the screw 36 and thenut 37. Prismatic bosses described later are provided on the center pad5 and pass through the rectangular trough holes 38.

FIG. 5 is a rear view showing the steering wheel 1 without the rearcover 20. A central portion of a rear face of the spoke section 4 is notcovered with the outer skin 7 so that the spoke core metal sheet 9 isexposed. The central portion is covered with the rear cover 20. Thecenter pad 5 and the rear cover 20 are used to cover the front and rearsides of the central portion of the spoke section 4, respectively.

A flange 26 is provided on the central rear face of the spoke section 4via connecting fittings. The flange 26 composes the center boss 3 andinstalls the mounting shaft 25. The flange 26 has a circular cutoutsection 27. The harness 23 extends from the cutout section 27.

The switch case 41 of the paddle switch 40 is installed on the rear faceof the extension section 35 with the screws 36 from the rear side. Thepaddle switch 40 is installed at a position protruding into the lowerspace 6 b from the switch case 41. The lower space 6 b is thus utilizedeffectively. The cord 48 (see FIG. 6) extends from the switch case 41and is connected to the harness 23 inside the center boss 3.

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line VI-VI of FIG. 5. Boss 43 formedso as to be integrated with the switch case 41 is disposed on theextension section 35. The screws 36 are passed through the through holes44 provided in the boss 43 and through the through holes 39 provided inthe extension section 35. Then, the boss 43 is fastened with the nuts 37on the front side of the extension section 35.

A circuit board 45 is provided inside the switch case 41. A switchelement 46 is mounted on the circuit board 45. The switch element 46 isa component obtained by sub-assembling the contact structure sections ofthe paddle switch 40 into a single small switch. An extensible rod 47 isurged by a spring toward the protruding direction from the switchelement 46 to push the paddle lever 10. The circuit board 45 is disposedso as to incline as shown in FIG. 6. The cord 48 is connected to thecircuit board 45.

When the paddle lever 10 is pulled up, the extensible rod 47 is pushedand the contact of the switch element 46 is switched ON, for example.Hence, a signal is sent to a controller (not shown) for controlling acorresponding apparatus via the circuit board 45 and the cord 48 tocontrol the apparatus to turn it ON, for example. The control forlighting an LED 57 described later is also performed.

One end of a rocking plate 51 integrated with the paddle lever 10 isrockably installed in the switch case via a shaft 50. The other end ofthe rocking plate is contacted with the extensible rod 47 and is usuallypushed by the extensible rod 47.

The rocking plate 51 is rockably supported on the side wall of theswitch case 41 at a position close to the bosses 43 by the shaft 50. Theshaft 50 is provided so as to pass through the switch case 41 or therocking plate 51, or pass through both of the switch case 41 and therocking plate 51.

A stopper protrusion 52 is provided on the rocking plate 51 in theproximity of the shaft 50, and is obliquely protruding. A stopper 53 isprovided on the side of the switch case 41 so as to be corresponded tothe stopper protrusion 52. When the rocking plate 51 rotatescounterclockwise in FIG. 6, the stopper protrusion 52 contacts with thestopper 53, and the return distance of the stopper protrusion 52 isrestricted to a predetermined amount.

An arc-shaped stepped section 54 is formed on the side face of therocking plate 51. When the rocking plate 51 is pushed clockwise by apredetermined amount, the stepped section 54 of the rocking plate 51makes contact with the opening fringe section 55 of the switch case 41,and the rocking plate 51 stops rotating after a predetermined amount ofrotation. The opening fringe section 55 is formed into an arc shapecorresponding to the shape of the stepped section 54.

The paddle lever 10 is wholly formed of a known transparentphotoconductive material made of a resin. The paddle lever 10 isintegrated with the rocking plate 51. A cutout groove 56 is formed inthe paddle lever 10. The LED 57 is fitted in the cutout groove 56. Theperiphery of the LED 57 is densely covered with a light-shielding member58 so that light does not leak around the LED 57.

The LED 57 is installed on the circuit board 45. The cord 48 is drawnout from the circuit board 45 and connected to the harness 23.

A tip end of the paddle lever 10 extends into the lower space 6 bfurther than the switch case 41 and serves as an operation section thatcan be pushed with the index finger 13.

As shown in the enlarged view in FIG. 6, a fringe end face 61 providedwith a chamfered section 60 is formed at the tip end of the paddle lever10. The fringe end face 61 serves as a reflecting surface. Thereflecting surface is inclined with respect to emitting direction of alight emitted from the LED 57.

Hence, the light emitted from the LED 57 passes through the inside ofthe paddle lever 10. The light is guided to the fringe end face 61 atthe tip end. The light is reflected by the fringe end face 61, wherebythe fringe end face 61 can be illuminated.

The fringe end face 61 is a slope face inclined to the central side ofthe steering wheel 1 toward the rear side, that is, a slope faceinclined to the rear side, as viewed from the front face of the steeringwheel 1. More specifically, the fringe end face 61 is a slope faceinclined by angle θ with respect to line A orthogonal to the surface ofthe paddle lever 10. Furthermore, the slope face is inclined to thecentral side of the wheel section 2 such that the slope face is inclinedtoward the rear face as viewed from the front face.

FIG. 7A is a view showing a state at the time when the paddle switch 40is turned ON. FIG. 7B is a view showing a state at the time when thepaddle switch 40 is turned OFF. As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the slopeface serves as a trimmed section 62 illuminated in a wide band shape onthe fringe end face 61 around the periphery of the paddle lever 10. Thefringe end face 61 is formed continuously around the paddle lever 10 onthe three sides of the periphery of the paddle lever 10, excluding theside of the portion that is installed to the rocking plate 51. Theilluminated trimmed section 62 is also formed continuously on the threesides.

The width of the illuminated trimmed section 62 can be adjusted to awide or narrow dimension as desired by adjusting the inclined angle θ ofthe fringe end face 61.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, another chamfered section 60is also formed at the corner section. Hence, the fringe end face 61 isnot only formed to have the reflecting surface but is also formed into asmoothly curved shape at the edges around the periphery of the paddlelever 10. Therefore, operation can be performed smoothly so that thefinger 13 is not caught by sharp edge-like portions around the peripheryof the paddle lever 10.

The LED 57 is a multicolor LED that changes color depending on thecontrol of voltage application direction. The luminescent color ischanged by changing the voltage application direction depending on theON/OFF operation of the paddle switch 40.

For example, when the LED 57 emits red light, the trimmed section 62 isilluminated in red.

For example, when the LED 57 emits blue light, the trimmed section 62 isilluminated in blue. However, the color obtained depending on the ON/OFFoperation can be determined as desired. In addition, the light emissionof the LED 57 while the paddle switch 40 is OFF can be synchronized withthe lighting of the vehicle lights during driving at night or in othersimilar situations. That is, it may be possible that the LED 57 does notemit light when the vehicle lights are turned OFF and that the LED 57emits light of the color determined for the OFF operation when thevehicle lights are turned ON.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the center pad 5 and therear cover 20. Cylindrical bosses 70 and prismatic bosses 71 protrudedownward from the rear side of the center pad 5. The three cylindricalbosses 70 are provided around a portion corresponding to the location ofthe center boss 3. Lower faces of the cylindrical bosses 70 contactswith the surface of the central portion of the spoke core metal sheet 9when the center pad 5 is installed (see FIG. 4).

The bosses 71, provided as a pair, are arranged to form a truncatedV-shape while being separated from each other. The bosses 71 protrudedownward further than the center pad 5. When the center pad 5 isinstalled on the spoke core metal sheet 9, the bosses 71 pass throughthe through holes 38 (see FIG. 4) and protrude below the spoke coremetal sheet 9. Hence, the center pad 5 is positioned with respect to thespoke core metal sheet 9. The rear cover 20 is connected to the centerpad 5 via horizontal through holes 72 provided at the lower end portionsof the bosses 71 as described later.

The rear cover 20 expands upward and is open. A pair of cylindricalbosses 73 is provided upright inside the left and right walls 20 b. Inaddition, horizontal cylindrical bosses 74 protrude inward from the leftand right lower walls 20 a. Each of The cylindrical bosses 73 and 74 hasa screw through hole at the axial center section, and also has a smallerthrough hole 75 at the tip end section. A hole 76 of the horizontalbosses 74 is open in the lower wall 20 a. A hole (refer to the hole 77shown in FIG. 3) of the bosses 73 is open in the lower face of the rearcover 20.

When the rear cover 20 is laid over the rear face of the spoke coremetal sheet 9, the tip ends of the bosses 73 contacts with the rear faceof the spoke core metal sheet 9. The through holes 75 are aligned withthe through holes 33 provided in the spoke core metal sheet 9. Then, ascrew is inserted into the hole 77 (see FIG. 3) being open in the lowerface of the rear cover 20 through the axis portion of the boss 73 so asto pass through the through holes 75 and 33. The screw is fastened withthe nut 34, whereby the rear cover 20 is installed on the spoke coremetal sheet 9.

Furthermore, since lower end sections of the prismatic bosses 71 arepositioned in the proximity of the tip ends of the horizontal bosses 74,the side faces of the lower end sections contacts with the tip ends ofthe horizontal bosses 74. Hence, through holes formed at the tip ends ofthe horizontal bosses 74 are aligned with the through holes 72 formed inthe bosses 71. Tapping screws (not shown) are each passed through thehole 76 and threaded into the through hole 72 to secure the center pad 5with the rear cover 20. As a result, the rear cover 20 and the centerpad 5 can be inserted on the spoke core metal sheet 9 by tightening onlyon the rear side of the steering wheel 1, that is, on the side of therear cover 20.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be described below. As shownin FIGS. 1, 6, 7A and 7B, one of the paddle levers 10 is touched andpulled up with the fingertip of the index finger 13 of the hand 11, whenthe rear face of the paddle lever 10 is touched with the fingertip ofthe index finger 13. Since the paddle levers 10 are transparent, it ispossible to visually recognize instantaneously whether the target paddlelever 10 is selected from among the multiple paddle levers 10 and istouched with the fingertip of the index finger 13. Therefore, themovement of the line of sight is also done instantaneously.

At this time, the hand 11 grips the portion connecting the horizontalspoke 4 a to the vertical spoke 4 b on the lower half side of the wheelsection 2. The paddle levers 10 are located within the reach of theindex finger 13 while gripping the wheel section 2 with the hand 11.Hence, the paddle levers 10 can be operated by blind touch withoutchanging grip positions.

In addition, the hand 11 can be positioned by gripping the base sectionbetween the horizontal spoke 4 a and the wheel section 2 or the basesection between the vertical spoke 4 b and the wheel section 2 so thatthe hand 11 contacts with the horizontal spoke 4 a or the vertical spoke4 b. Hence, the blind touch operation of the paddle levers 10 can beperformed more accurately and easily.

Furthermore, since the paddle lever 10 is formed of a transparentphotoconductor, the paddle lever 10 has simple structure, unlike apaddle lever of related-arts that has a composite structure formed of aphotoconductor and a resin material other than that of thephotoconductor or the like. Moreover, the photoconductors are eachrimmed with the illuminated boarder section 62 so that the periphery ofthe photoconductor is illuminated in a rimmed shape. The paddle levers10 are independent of each other at predetermined intervals. It is thuspossible to visually recognize instantaneously whether the target paddlelever 10 is selected and to perform confirmation instantaneously whenthe paddle lever 10 is touched with the fingertip. Still further, evenafter the paddle lever 10 is touched with the fingertip, it is possibleto visually recognize instantaneously and accurately that the fingertipof the index finger 13 is placed inside the illuminated border section62. Hence, the movement of the line of sight during the operation of thepaddle lever 10 is reduced and takes a very short time. It is thuspossible to attain operation nearly equivalent to complete blind touchoperation.

Each paddle lever 10 is made relatively large so that the area touchedwith the fingertip becomes large, so that the peripheral length of theilluminated border section 62 is made sufficiently long and so that theperiphery is rimmed on the three sides. Hence, the target paddle lever10 is identified easily and blind touch operation is done easily.Furthermore, since the fringe end face 61 is formed into a slope shapeinclined rearward, the width of the illuminated border section 62 ismade larger, and the light-emitting area can be increased. Hence, thepaddle lever 10 can be visually recognized more easily.

Moreover, since the color of the illuminated border section 62 thatlights depending on the ON/OFF operation of the paddle switch 40 ischanged, the ON/OFF state of the paddle switch 40 can be judgedaccurately. It is thus not necessary to spend time and effort inchecking the ON/OFF state of an apparatus to be operated each time theapparatus is operated. Therefore, the operation can be performedpromptly.

Besides, since the paddle switches 40 are provided on the lower halfside of the steering wheel 1, the paddle switches 40 are positionedagainst the background of the instrument panel of an ordinary vehicle,and the illuminated border sections 62 of the paddle switches 40 arealso disposed against the background of the instrument panel. Hence, theborder sections 62 do not interfere with driving, and are visuallyrecognized properly at any time during the day or night.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described abovebut can be modified and applied variously within the principle of theinvention. For example, the apparatuses to be turned ON/OFF for exampleusing the paddle switches 40 may be any apparatuses. For example, amongthe paddle switches provided on the left and right sides of the verticalspoke 4 b, the paddle switch on the left side can be used for hands-freecommunication. One of the paddle levers 10 can be used for turningON/OFF a communication device and another paddle lever 10 (operationknob) can be used for speech switching.

Furthermore, the paddle switch on the right side can be used to supportdriving and may be used for auto-cruising, shift up and shift down, forexample.

Any number of the paddle levers (operation knobs) can be used. It isdesirable that the paddle levers should be made as large as possible tofacilitate blind touch operation. In addition, it is also desirable thata sufficient clearance should be provided between the adjacent paddlelevers 10 so that the paddle levers 10 can be operated independently ofeach other for higher operability.

Furthermore, any number of the spoke sections 4 and any shape the spokesections 4 of can be used in the steering wheel 1 to which the presentinvention is applied. A steering wheel provided with only the horizontalspoke 4 a and not provided with the vertical spoke 4 b and a steeringwheel provided with one spoke may also be used. The point that it issufficient provided that the paddle switches 40 can be disposed on thelower half side of the steering wheel 1.

1. A paddle switch for a steering wheel, the paddle switch protrudingfrom a lower portion of a center pad provided on a center of thesteering wheel comprising: an operation knob formed of a transparentphotoconductor, wherein an outer periphery of the operation knob isilluminated depending on an ON/OFF operation of the paddle switch. 2.The paddle switch according to claim 1, wherein a reflecting surface isformed on an operation part of the outer periphery of the operationknob.
 3. The paddle switch according to claim 1, wherein the operationpart of the outer periphery of the operation knob is chamfered.
 4. Thepaddle switch according to claim 2, wherein the reflecting surface ofthe operation knob is inclined with respect to emitting direction of alight from a light source.
 5. The paddle switch according to claim 1,wherein a light source is a multicolor LED, and the outer periphery ofthe operation knob is illuminated with different colors depending on theON/OFF operation of the paddle switch.
 6. A steering wheel comprising: apaddle switch according to claim 1; a wheel section; a center padprovided on a center of the steering wheel; and a horizontal spokeextending from the center pad in a radial direction, wherein the paddleswitch is installed in the center pad, the operation knob of the paddleswitch protrudes toward a lower space formed between the horizontalspoke and the wheel section and is positioned within the reach of afinger in state of gripping a lower half side of the wheel section witha hand.